Religious Travelers - EL AL kosher meal changes in First Class from Heathrow

As of 1st July 2008, the food served in EL AL's First Class from London Heathrow (LHR) is no longer Glatt Kosher and from Hermolis (Kedassia supervision) but is supplied by EL AL's 'TaMam' company in Israel, under regular Israeli rabbinate supervision (not glatt, not shmitta observant). Those who wish to have glatt kosher meals are required to pre-order SKML, which is provided by the 'Hamasbia' company in Israel (under Eda Charedit supervision). Whether these 'meals' are fit to be served in First Class, or whether they are even edible at all, is open to debate ...

As of 1st July 2008, the food served in EL AL's First Class from London Heathrow (LHR) is no longer Glatt Kosher and from Hermolis (Kedassia supervision) but is supplied by EL AL's 'TaMam' company in Israel, under regular Israeli rabbinate supervision (not glatt, not shmitta observant). Those who wish to have glatt kosher meals are required to pre-order SKML, which is provided by the 'Hamasbia' company in Israel (under Eda Charedit supervision). Whether these 'meals' are fit to be served in First Class, or whether they are even edible at all, is open to debate ...

Whoa, there!!!! Without making any comments at all about Tamam's overall level of Kashrus or food quality, I don't think it's at all correct to say that they're "not shmitta observant". Do you mean that they use the Heter Mechira? If so then there are lots of Dati people who would say that was just fine, and quite a few who would question the use of Yibul Nochri as well! And as for not being Glatt, there are also lots of Dati people who aren't particular about Glatt and, not so long ago, most Charedi people weren't, either.

And a question for you.... Is Tamam supervised by the Israeli Rabbanut or by El Al's in-house Rav?

Whoa, there!!!! Without making any comments at all about Tamam's overall level of Kashrus or food quality, I don't think it's at all correct to say that they're "not shmitta observant". Do you mean that they use the Heter Mechira? If so then there are lots of Dati people who would say that was just fine, and quite a few who would question the use of Yibul Nochri as well! And as for not being Glatt, there are also lots of Dati people who aren't particular about Glatt and, not so long ago, most Charedi people weren't, either.
Come on now, why don't you just get real. There is no point in starting a 'flame war' over this issue. I am quite sure that you are aware that no kashrut authorities outside of Israel rely on the heter mechira. I think that you will find that in the USA and the UK everything is 'yevul nochri' anyway, if you get what I mean (in Israel they would call it 'yevou' (imported) ...). Besides, Israel is currently in the midst of an unprecedented water crisis, caused entirely by the vastly bloated agricultural sector effectively exporting water to Europe. So I wouldn't say that relying on heter mechira is good for the country's ecology either ...

As far as Glatt is concerned, I would agree with you in theory. However, nowadays the term has come to mean far more than it did in the past, and covers many issues which are not at all connected with Glatt per se (for example, bugs in leafy vegetables, certain problems with chickens which affect ALL chickens, and have nothing to do with Glatt, the need to be over-lenient with treifos in Israel (more by IM if you want) the practice (which is totally rejected by all serious kashrut authorities outside of Israel and by Israel's own secular Supreme Court) of using company employees as kashrut inspectors, etc)

And a question for you.... Is Tamam supervised by the Israeli Rabbanut or by El Al's in-house Rav?
Technically, by the rabbanut. In addition they have supervision by Rabbi Moshe Nachshoni, who is NOT their 'in-house' rabbi. El AL used to have their own rabbi, but they got rid of him because he was making things too difficult (in their opinion) as he was insisting they improve their general standards of kashrut (and not only the kashrut of products supplied specifically to the hareidi sector). In this respect, I happen to have extensive information. Unfortunately, it was much easier for EL AL to get a hareidi rabbi as a 'liason with religious passengers' than to improve standards for everyone. Don't think for one moment that 'the rabbanut' in Israel is uniform in its standards. There are huge variations (more if you wish to continue by IM).

I think that the Shemittoh situation is different in the UK, where we don't have to rely on Israeli produce, so there's no necessity to rely on the Heter Mechiroh. But, as you say, let's not start a flame war, so we'll continue by PM ;)

As of 1st July 2008, the food served in EL AL's First Class from London Heathrow (LHR) is no longer Glatt Kosher and from Hermolis (Kedassia supervision) but is supplied by EL AL's 'TaMam' company in Israel, under regular Israeli rabbinate supervision (not glatt, not shmitta observant). Those who wish to have glatt kosher meals are required to pre-order SKML, which is provided by the 'Hamasbia' company in Israel (under Eda Charedit supervision). Whether these 'meals' are fit to be served in First Class, or whether they are even edible at all, is open to debate ...

eat vegetables or fish then

eat vegetables or fish then
... shemitta problems ...

For what its worth, I always thought F out of LHR was very good - lets see if this new one is any better.

I assume the KD lounge is still under LBD?

For what its worth, I always thought F out of LHR was very good - lets see if this new one is any better.
Yes, the food in F from LHR was indeed very good. However, this change means that I won't be going F any more with EL AL from LHR. To be served the almost inedible (and I am not exaggerating) 'Hamasbia' glatt food in F is not exactly worth the calories ... (more by PM if you want).

I assume the KD lounge is still under LBD?It has never been LBD (at least, not for many years). The food supplied (and which has recently been improved) has been from the Hendon Bagel Bakery, which is under the Federation supervision. Pretty much the same as LBD, I would say, and acceptable to pretty much everyone (it is parev anyway).

... shemitta problems ...

plz explain how fish are affected

Fish cooked with any vegetables or herbs would be a problem w/shmita. Esp since Israel exports lots of fresh herbs to Europe.

I am pleased to say that over the past few months there has been a very significant improvement in the quality of the Hamasbia meals served as SKML in EL AL, both in First Class and Business Class. The improvement in the F offering is very marked, from being almost totally inedible in the past to being pretty good now (although not quite as good as Hermolis yet). I have to say that I had a personal involvement here, as I put a great deal of pressure on EL AL on this issue (from a variety of angles) and am pleased to say that they eventually responded far more positively than I could have imagined. It seems that Hayyim Romano (the CEO of EL AL) had not been aware of the appalling quality of the SKML in F until I drew it to his attention. I wrote to him enclosing photos of the 'food', and an 'invitation' for him to order SKML on his next trip in F to the USA. I was later told by someone I know from EL AL who works in a nearby office that he was quite shocked to see how bad the food really was. I was contacted by phone within a few days by someone in the catering department of EL AL to arrange for me to visit the Hamasbia factory and discuss the various issues with their CEO and other members of their team. I drafted a report of my visit which I sent to Hayyim Romano at EL AL. Once he became involved the first changes were apparent within 4 weeks, with the major changes taking another month or so. I have to say that this was quite impressive. I still get calls from the Hamasbia CEO every couple of months asking if things are OK.

The situation has slowly improved over the past few months. I didn't post earlier, not knowing whether things would remain at the same standard, but after one complete menu rotation I can say that things are really looking good.

What this does say is that (as with any healthy business) customer feedback is essential. One thing I was told time and time again was that hareidi passengers never complain about the food, even if it really is awful and they are in F (the FAs would often apologise to me for the awful food 'which was all we were given'). The result: the companies can get away with serving pretty much anything as SKML.